


The High Road

by sharkprincess (rinmatsuokaswife)



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chaptered, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Drug Dealing, Drugs, F/M, Kissing, Marijuana, Recreational Drug Use, Short, Underage Drug Use, Underage Smoking, Weed, pot, stoners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 02:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5480255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinmatsuokaswife/pseuds/sharkprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Besides being an underground gang who bands together with their unique powers to forge a sense of family and brotherhood, the Mekakushi Dan are also a drug-farming company that deal bags of bud to the city they live in and get by (or high) off the profits.<br/>Drabbles, may get into a more intense plot later, with mainly KanoKido, and some Seto/Mary, Shintaro/Ayano, and Hibiya/Hiyori mentions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It was a dark night in the streets of the big city. The full moon was white and large, pearlescent, giving it a dramatic look in the long stretch of plain, ordinary clouds. The streets were alit with lamp posts, the glare of car lights, and windows glowing along the office buildings, rendering the dark gray sky starless from light pollution. A few cars roamed around the roads, moving quickly enough to give the nighttime more a hustle-and-bustle kind of vibe. Only a few civilians headed down the sidewalks, eyes staring straight ahead, avoiding eye contact as committed as possible to keep away from untrustworthy strangers.

On one particular street, in the back of a dark alleyway, stood a pair of people: one short, one tall, a wash of moonlight illuminating their presence. The short one was obviously a girl: she had long brown hair tied into two pigtails at the back, and wore a blue denim overall-like dress on top of a gray long-sleeved t-shirt and black Doc Martens boots, a leathery backpack set on the ground by her feet. The tall one wasn't as easy to analyze, with a slim, lanky body and baggy clothing: a purple sweatshirt with the hood pulled over their head, olive green cargo pants, and black hi-top Vans. They were standing close, but not close enough to seem intimate, just a foot apart from one another, in arms length. The girl was staring daggers into the other person, a wary frown worn on her painted lips, but it didn't reach her gaze: from the look of her big brown eyes, she seemed scared and afraid, as if trying to act unworried when she was prepared to run away if necessary. 

The other person held in their hands a small plastic baggie, with contents resembling herbs, shaped like broccoli leaves. Their fingers braced the top part of the bag, and held it up openly, as if teasing the girl, trying to see if she'd come out and grab it. The person wore a red jacket under the hoodie that was zipped all the way up, obscuring the bottom half of their face, but appearing from the crinkles around their flickering black eyes, it seemed like they were smiling. 

"Is this a good amount for you?" they asked jokingly. They stared intently at the girl, who bristled irately, as if questioning whether they were taking her seriously or not. She glowered and stuffed her fingers into the pocket of her dress, pulling out a brown wallet. She searched around and pulled out two wads of $100 bills. "Here's the money," she muttered, keeping her voice low, "now is there another bag?" She looked as if she wanted to say more, as if she wanted to snap out at the other person, but reluctance must've been holding her back. Judging from the fact that she kept looking over her shoulder every other moment, she seemed anxious someone was watching. 

The other person chuckled. "Sorry, sweet, that'll only get you a half ounce," they replied, giving the baggie a little shake. "Hand me another $200 though, and you can get another bag." Their voice, although quiet, dripped clear of temptation. 

The girl hesitated, the money still clenched in her hand. She seemed thoughtful, yet still suspicious. Finally, after a tense second, she opened up her wallet again and pulled out another pair of $100s, and held the bills out in front of her courageously. 

"You were prepared, huh." The other person reached into their cargo pants pockets and, after a bit of rummaging, produced another matching bag of herbs. They took the money out of the girl's hand and placed the bags into the grasp of her fingers, an exchange now completed. The other person then slipped the cash into their hoodie and nodded. "Have fun, then." 

The girl bit her lip, eying the bags tentatively. "Y-Yeah, thanks," she muttered. She shoved them clumsily into her backpack, and turned to walk away, a quickening in her pace. 

"Pleasure doing business with you, Hiyori," the person called out. 

Hiyori turned sharply around and snarled, her lips curling angrily. She then headed back into the direction she was going, never looking back. 

The person laughed a little to themselves and walked the opposite way down the shadowed alleyway, feeling at the crumpled dollars in their pocket. A buzz vibrated from their pocket, and they pulled out a black smart phone. The top text was from Hiyori herself: "do not ever, ever yell out my name in public when I come back here." 

Sighing, the person pulled down their hood, revealing themselves to be a girl: her small, delicate face and piercing red eyes brightened in the lamp light. Her long green hair had been tucked under her jacket and was beginning to spill out in small locks. She brushed some of her bangs aside so she could see more clearly and tapped out a response: "of course, dear. if you ever want to get back at me, just shout 'Kido' XD."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to write something like this in a while, and I'm not sure if this idea has been taken already??  
> Note that I'm still in the process of figuring out this story so if there's tons of future chapters and the foreshadowing is fucking terrible, I apologize in advance lol


	2. is actually Chapter 1

Her eyes flashing red, Kido passed along the sidewalks, ignoring the sharp glare of the car lights as they sped past them. As she padded silently down the back ends of the city, no one one passed by turned to face her. No one sitting on the streets to look for money saw her. No one said anything when she neared the odd, back corner alley of the city and crossed a leg over a line of yellow cautionary tape into a restricted, abandoned building. 

The building was dark, all the windows shut and the curtains drawn. But as she approached the porch, a humming sound could be heard through its walls, almost like the hum of a television. She took a ring of keys from another pants pocket and carefully unlocked the crusted wooden door before slipping inside. 

Just as she entered the a messy living room, the carpets covered in lint and the furniture blanketed in a thin layer of dust, a light-hearted voice spoke up from the nearest couch. "How much did you get tonight, Danchou?" 

Kido turned. She blinked a few times to get her eyes adjusted to the light, then pulled down the zipper of her jacket to reveal a subtly triumphant smile. "$400," she replied, pulling the wad of money out of her pocket and waving it in the air. 

The one who she was speaking to was Kano, who sat on the dirty couch, dressed in a black short-sleeved hoodie, a mustard yellow shirt, and gray jeans. His blond uneven bangs danced over his eyes as he grinned excitedly, and his gold eyes glowed fiercely with joy. "Awesome!" he exclaimed, and held out his hand with his palm up. Kido approached and high-fived him appreciatively. "For only 1 pound?" 

Kido sighed. "First-time buyer. I had to rip her off, the opportunity was too good." She slumped down on the couch next to him, passing him the cash, and stared at the television screen in front of them, displaying some kind of game show. 

Kano laughed, clear as a bell. "Well, we could always use the extra money, right?" He set the bills down on his lap and turned his head to Kido, the smile gone. "Do you feel guilty?" 

"Yeah." Kido readjusted herself so she leaned more towards him, their eyes locking. "I was playing into this whole confident kind of guy, and I felt like that personality reflected on my actions. I mean, she seemed so young and impressionable, you know? One of those hipstery popular girls who wears cliche grungy clothes and smokes pot to be cool. It makes me feel bad for her." 

"You think she got pressured into buying it?" Kano asked. 

Kido drew in her breath between her teeth. "I hope not, because I just got an extra $200 off of her. She's gonna be broke for the next month, I know that's for sure." 

"Heh. What a poor girl." Kano giggled, which flashed him a disapproving look from Kido. "I wonder where she got our contact info, then. Is she from that high school nearby? The one Shintaro-kun went to?" 

"Probably," Kido said. "Maybe Hibiya gave it to her." 

"Couldn't he have just given it to her himself then?" Kano snorted. He was fiddling with a glass jar of weed on his lap, left unnoticed on the floor by the couch, struggling to get the cap off. "He's in the gang too, after all." 

"Maybe he just doesn't want people to know that he's a member of a local drug cartel," Kido deadpanned flatly. "I've been told middle school is a tiring time for people his age since everyone cares about what people thinks about them, so maybe he's just laying low and trying not to draw attention to himself. It'd probably be beneficial for us anyway. You don't often hear about 12 years old getting arrested for possession." 

"Yeah, but we're a local drug cartel with cool eye powers." Kano looked up at Kido from the jar and his eyes flashed red, and for two split seconds, he was Hibiya himself, with his tousled light brown hair, determined youthful face, and tiny stature.

Kido's eyes widened a moment, before he transformed back into his old appearance again, not a single blond hair out of place. "Besides, wouldn't he be all the rage with everyone there? Drug gangs are pretty famous with kids," Kano laughed, taking a shiny glass bowl pipe, the color of jade, out of his jeans pocket. "It's like the neat, picturesque lifestyle of every typical awesome badass protagonist from every other show ever. You know that show Breaking Bad? Now I'm pretty sure everyone wants to start cooking with the methheads!" 

"First of all, I don't think anyone with common sense would ever want to be a situation like Walter White," Kido responded cynically. "Sure, growing marijuana is one thing, but creating methamphetamine drugs and selling them to addicts is dangerous, difficult, and even worse if caught by the law. And second of all, no one is supposed to know about the Heat Haze and what it did to us." Kido grimaced a moment, thinking of the other members of the gang. "Who knows what'll happen if other people find out, especially if the information gets in the wrong hands. And third of all, where did you learn the word 'picturesque'?" 

Kano shrugged and exhaled loudly, a puff of smoke blowing from his lips. He held the now-packed pipe, filling it while the two had been talking, and a lighter was held loosely in his other hand. "I was reading the newspaper the other day. Seto picked it up from the store when going out to deliver, something about ''an increase in criminal activity''." 

Kido hesitated. "Hopefully that won't affect business too much. Speaking of which, where is Seto anyway?" 

"Out with Marry in the garden shed." Kano put his lips to the pipe's mouthpiece as the flame of the lighter burned over the bud, inhaling sharply. After a satisfying exhale, he turned and raised his eyebrows, winking at her. 

"Marry is still young, Kano," Kido muttered. "I doubt they're doing anything... weird." 

"I heard that pause there, Danchou," Kano chuckled. "Anyways, while they're still out there doing who knows what... wanna party?" He held out the pipe and lighter to her, gesturing for her to take it, his smile most prominent. 

"On a Tuesday night?" Kido asked doubtfully. "I thought we had more class than that, Kano." 

"Well, I am a stoner, Danchou," Kano responded, nodding his chin towards the apparatus. "I don't have much better to do." 

Kido stifled an amused grin. "I guess I don't have much better to do either." She took the heated pipe and lighter from him, her fingers sweeping softly over his. She put her left thumb on the carb hole and yanked on the side of the lighter with her right thumb, creating a spark and a flame. She put the mouthpiece in between her lips, and held the small fire over the weed. She inhaled, and then took the pipe away, exhaling slowly, feeling the burn of its taste in her throat. 

Kano giggled, touching his fingers to his mouth. "An indirect kiss!" 

Kido laughed and toked again, but instead of blowing the smoke out into the air before them, she turned her head and blew gently it into his face. Kano snickered louder. He tilted his head, staring into her eyes, a light as flickery as the lighter flames dancing in them, before bending forward and pressing his mouth against hers. 

Kido stiffened at first: her fun with Kano was always random and spontaneous, and whenever they started kissing, it always took her by surprise, and she was the last person to ever be good with surprises. It didn't help that she wasn't always a fan of getting romantic while high, since the vibe felt strange, sometimes even forced. But as she felt strands of his hair tickle her cheeks, his nose brush against her own, she allowed her lips to soften, opening her lips a little to let the tip of his wet tongue enter. They moved their mouths against one another lightly, their hands touching. When he pulled back, she smiled, his pungent breath tangible with her taste buds. "The flavor of pot in my mouth just amplified from kissing you." 

Kano took the pipe and lighter from her hands and huffed the fumes down into his lungs after a long light, releasing the smoke up above him. He smiled warmly at her, leaning in against her body, their shoulders pressing together. "And doesn't it taste delicious, Danchou?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any feedback or comments would be super great!! I could really use the advice thank you


	3. is actually Chapter 2

The morning after, a Wednesday, sunlight washed over the entire city, and the bustle of the nighttime only increased as the hours went by. Horns blared as cars honked at distracted drivers, people walked by impassively and expressionless, bikes sped past the oncoming traffic jubilantly. High school students, dressed in customary outfits or checkered uniforms, climbed into buses and crossed the streets, talking either excitedly or quietly about the day ahead. Some, a girl in particular with long brown hair and dilated brown eyes, stumbled with a rather bacchanalian air, one that would provoke suspicious curiosity among her peers, and would most likely not pass a field sobriety test. As to how she got this way, not many people would know, but it was certainly a mystery to some, especially as to who she acquired the necessary ingredients from. 

Kido awoke in a dazed stupor. She lay in the living room, her back against the floor, her glazed eyes crusted in the corners with grit. She stared up at the bumpy popcorn ceiling and yawned, tasting the tangy air, wondering what had happened the night before. She hadn't dreamed either, no visions appearing to her head at the thought of her recent sleep. But when she swallowed, the spice of a familiar plant in her mouth, it dawned on her immediately. 

"Kano?" she asked, clearing her throat. She tried to get up, but it felt almost impossible, as if her mind had woken up but her body hadn't. 

"Shush, don't try to wake him." 

She looked up towards the voice, where she saw a boy her age, with short black hair and amber eyes, dressed in an olive green cargo jump suit, the pant legs rolled up to his knees. While his face seemed young and cute, his usual docile and gentle expression seemed somewhat exasperated, his eyebrows knit together. 

"Seto," Kido croaked. "Where's Kano?" 

He smiled kindly. "Sleeping on the couch. I think you both took some of the indica, the couch-lock is probably still in effect." 

Kido moaned. "Shit, I'm so sorry." She frowned and a sense of worry came to her. "Did we keep you up? Did the smell?" 

Seto laughed, bending down on his knees to pick up the opened jar that lay with a little of its contents scattered by her side. "Don't worry, you were both relatively quiet, and the stench doesn't really bother me anymore. We basically live in it these days." He shut the jar closed, then gathered the spilled bushels and put them in one of his pockets. "Although, if I had to be completely honest, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more moderate. We can only afford so many seeds." He stood back up again. "Did you smoke Monday night too?" 

Kido racked her brain momentarily, but everything still felt foggy. "I have no idea," she replied, rubbing the crud out of her eyes. "I wouldn't think so, since I was out late making deliveries, but I can't make any promises for Kano." She turned her head to the couch on her left, where she could see the edge of his black hood leaning off the side of the cushion. 

Seto tapped his fingers on the glass of the jar thoughtfully. "Maybe we'll need to make some cutbacks on our amount for personal use." 

"Put some of it towards sales, right?" Kido sighed. "I'll talk with Shintaro and Ene about it later. Are they both up?" 

"Well, it's ten in the morning, so possibly?" He walked away, headed for the pantry with jar in hand. 

Kido grumbled as she felt her stomach speak its thoughts. She was hungry. Urging herself to get, up she rolled on her side and pushed her strength into the ground, hauling her torso up slowly. When she managed to get into a sitting position, Kido heard the sounds of foot steps coming down the old staircase, and when she turned, a flash of a red track suit jacket came up into view. The familiar, tall boy stalked into the living room, his tangly shock of jet black hair noticeable from far away. As he approached the couch, he stopped dead in his tracks, scowling. "Oh my god." 

"Good morning, Shintaro," Kido responded quietly. 

His black eyes gazed down at her, unblinking. "Man, you guys are crazy," he said, ignoring her greeting. "I thought the smell was bad upstairs, but this is ridiculous." 

Kido felt a hot flush of embarrassment come to her cheeks. "Was it that bad?" 

"Are you kidding me? It's so strong I can hear the Grateful Dead playing in the air." He gave her and Kano's sleeping form matching, rather despondent looks and turned to the kitchen to get some food. 

"Says the one who used to order several ounces of pot each month from our website before meeting us a little white ago," Kido muttered under her breath. 

As Shintaro began rustling in the cabinets, Seto came back to the living room, the jar of indica stocked safely away. "Marry and I are going to go for a walk in a little," he told her. "She stayed up a while fixing a broken lamp in the garden shed and wants some air. Is that okay?" 

Kido nodded, rubbing away the sweat from her forehead. "Yeah, it's alright, just be as safe as you can and don't get in any trouble." She looked up at him again, eyes narrowed. "Do I have to remind you about the 'no-partying-in-public' rule? I mean, not that you've ever done it, from what I can tell, but I'd like to be assured that you and her won't do anything against the law." 

Seto laughed, a soft, hearty chuckle. He gestured to the whole house, the abandoned building left untouched by the government, their treasured home. "Aren't we already breaking the law?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, not much KanoKido action in this one, more of a little backstory and stuff, some exposition before the next chapter and stuff :)  
> any feedback or advice about accuracy or writing would be awesome!! thanks friends


	4. is actually Chapter 3

"That'll be $3,200, sir." 

Konoha stood face-to-face with the client in the recording studio's back parking lot, making his face extra stony and stern. As much as he didn't expect himself to get jumped or attacked, considering his reputation, he needed to be extra careful: he had to come off as tough as he could, even if it was something he wasn't always good at. 

The client, a bearded man dressed in a black suit with sunglasses, his hair combed and gelled like a pompadour, gestured to his shorter assistant, who quickly produced four rolls of cash from their pocket, secured in rubber bands. He handed them to Konoha, who untied the bands and counted off each $100 bill. When he recounted in his head and confirmed that this was the right amount, he stuffed the payment away in the inside of his jacket, and then rolled the heavy metal cart in the assistant's direction. It conveyed four smallish, brown cardboard boxes, stacked on top of one another. Each one carrying two jars, that each contained two fresh, cured ounces of home-grown marijuana. 

The assistant opened up the four boxes meticulously and inspected the jars, before closing them back and whispering something in the bearded man's ear. He smiled, and nodded at Konoha, almost as a sort of thanks, a silent "pleasure doing business with you". He then turned around and walked away towards a shiny black limo as his assistant followed, pushing the cart in front of him. Just as they loaded the boxes into the car, Konoha decided he should head back inside of the recording studio and see how Momo was doing. 

He navigated through the long, bleak hallways, decorated with framed photographs of various bands and idols smiling with their personnel in the recording booths. Just as he rounded the corner, he spotted her standing outside of a brown door, a hand on her hip and a phone in front of her eyes. "Kisaragi-san!" 

Momo averted her gaze towards him and widened her round black eyes. "There you are!" she exclaimed as Konoha arrived before her. Her strawberry blond hair was gathered in a ponytail, and she was dressed in a simple graphic hoodie and skinny jeans; an odd look for her, since even he was so used to seeing her in colorful stage outfits. "I was just about to call you. Come inside, we have private access to the break room!" 

They entered the room, which was cozy and spacious, decked out with soft leather couches and smooth wooden coffee tables, completed with a quiet radio, a giant plasma screen TV, and sleek mini-fridge. Konoha locked the door behind them and crashed on one of the couches, while Momo walked to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle, cold and wet from condensation. "You want a drink?" she asked him. "There's soda, if you're interested. Or perhaps a beer?" She held up a shiny brown and blue bottle of Bud Light, and stuck out her tongue, a smile playing on her lips. 

"No thanks," Konoha said, tucking his hands behind his head. "Help yourself, though." 

"Maybe I will..." Momo put the bottle on the end table nearby and used one hand to pull out two more. "I'll be moderate, of course," she added, when noticing Konoha's raised eyebrow. Her eyes danced over the corners and ceilings. "Do they have security cameras in here?" 

Konoha briefly joined her search. "Doesn't seem like it," he noted. The walls were in fact camera-free, no small black devices in sight. "But we can never be too careful either. Do you want to find a public restroom we could go into to talk instead?" he asked. 

"Isn't it a crime for boys to go into the girls bathroom?" Momo pointed out. 

"Maybe we could find a gender neutral one," Konoha suggested. 

"Screw it," Momo snorted, grabbing another few beers. "This isn't a crazy popular studio, kinda old and shabby. I doubt they'd want to keep an eye out for underage celebrities taking some alcohol." She glanced at all 7 beer bottles on the end table and grabbed the water bottle, unscrewing it and swallowing several gulps down her throat. "So how'd it go?" she asked, taking a spot on a couch close to Konoha's. 

"Good." He pulled out one of the rolls of cash and waved it in the air for her to see. "$3,200 as promised." 

"Well that's good," Momo said, taking another swig of water. "Are there any other buyers to meet up with soon? I know we still have a whole bunch of boxes left in the van." 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that we do." Konoha took out his cell phone and tapped a pin in his lock screen, scrolling through an opened list of clientele. "Two more to meet up with this afternoon, and by then you'll be finished recording for most of the album, right?" 

Momo nodded. "We'll be around here until 8PM." 

"Good." He slipped his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his white hair to get the bangs away from his face. "Any news from HQ?" 

She laughed, as if he had just told her a funny joke. "Are we calling it the 'HQ' now? And no, Danchou didn't text me anything. I'm assuming everything's the same-old same-old. Shintaro watching anime all day, Marry reading gay manga in the shed, Kano getting stoned off his ass, Kido delivering goods, Hibiya's going to school..." She scowled. "Lucky jerk." 

"Why's he lucky?" Konoha asked. "That he gets to go to school?" 

"Duh!" Momo drank more water, a little trickle missing her mouth and leaking down her chin. "I hardly ever got to go to an actual school, since I had no idea how to control my stupid eyes." 

"That wasn't your fault," Konoha protested kindly. "You hadn't learned yet." 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it didn't suck," Momo grumbled. "Every time I'd go, either people would pay no attention to me or pay too much attention to me. I used them once accidentally to win some art contest, and everyone stopped talking to me since they knew I didn't deserve it." Her voice was brittle and bitter. 

"I doubt that's all true," Konoha replied. "I'm sure it was a lovely work." 

She sighed. "It was alright, I guess. But after a while, it got tedious. People would bitch out at me about how they never won. Thank goodness the idol industry took me up after that." 

"So is that how you ended up getting homeschooled?" he asked. 

"Yeah..." Her eyes stared off into the distance, seeming far away. "That didn't work out much either, since my grades were so bad." She poured more water down her mouth, emptying the bottle with one big swallow. "You were in school, right?" 

"Kind of." Konoha smiled thoughtfully. "I was really sickly and weak in high school, so I was put in a special education program. There were two people in the class: me and Takane. I'd be drawing in class while she'd be arguing with the teacher. It was annoying at times, since it was just the two of us and we'd always have to work together. But it was always fun too." 

Momo smirked, but it wasn't smug. "Sounds like you had a great time at school." 

Konoha shrugged. "I guess it wasn't so bad." He frowned. "I mean, it had its ups and downs. It was great, since I had Takane and lots of food. But the teacher wasn't so awesome." He glanced up at Momo, his pink eyes unblinking. "Did she tell you?" he asked quietly. 

Her smirk had disappeared, now biting her lip nervously, as if bringing up a bad memory, or coming across a difficult topic. She remained perfectly still, her hands gripping the plastic water bottle tightly, but not tightly enough to create a crunch-like noise. "He killed you." 

The silence was heavy. As if attempting to lighten the atmosphere, Konoha grinned. "August 15, just like you." 

Momo exhaled slowly, as if feeling a burdensome weight on her shoulders. "Jeez, that brings up memories. I need a beer." She dropped the empty water bottle by her side and snatched one of the beer bottles she had collected from the fridge. She leaned forward towards the coffee table, and after positioning the bottom of the crown cap at the edge of the table, slammed her right hand on the bottle with a loud bang. Konoha internalized a small wince as the cap popped off smoothly. Momo put the end of the bottle to her lips and took a nice, long sip. When she noticed Konoha was still staring, she smiled at him. "Impressed?" 

"I'm just surprised that you drink. I thought you were only into Marry's crop like the others. Aren't you only 16?" he asked. 

"Haven't you heard that high schoolers get drunk sometimes?" she retorted gently. "Besides, we'd get arrested if either of us whipped out a joint and started toking, the staff would be able to smell it. And don't worry, it's not like I'm addicted to the drink or anything. It's just that worrying about the gang while doing idol work is kinda stressful." She held out the bottle to him. "Although it must be harder for you. You have to actually do the deal yourself! Want some?" 

Konoha shook his head. "I'm alright. Just don't get too intoxicated before they call you back to the booth." 

She took another drink, her eyes narrowing lightly. "I'll try my best," she said, winking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more backstory!!!  
> I'd like to add that this story is using the typical complicated Heat Haze concept stuff (which I'm still even now trying to wrap my head around lmao)  
> any feedback or advice would be awesome sauce :D


End file.
